Pathways
by Panic Switch
Summary: Sequel to 'So Believe': The Decepticons have been quiet lately, and it has put everyone a bit on edge. What could they be up to? And why are the Autobots suddenly ignoring Paris? She wants to find out.
1. Chapter 1

A/N Hey, I'm finally here with the sequel to "So Believe". Life has just been pretty hectic lately, but things are starting to slow down… hopefully.

Disclaimer: I do not own Transformers, only the plot and my own characters.

* * *

**Part One**

_**Control**_

Chapter 1

I couldn't help but put a little skip in my step as I made my way to my locker after school. It had been the last day of actual classes, with only two more days until the eighth grade promotion. Saying I was happy was an understatement.

With summertime just around the corner, I was going to be able to hang out with the Autobots more often. And since there had been a recent arrival of a group of new Autobots, I was looking forward to getting to know them better.

After shouldering my way through the crowd around the lockers, I finally made it to my own. I saw that my friends were already there, gathering their own belongings. With a smile, I jumped to the side of them and began to sing, "School's out for summer!"

Jenny smiled a bit, "Not yet."

"Well, it's close enough for me!" I stated. After undoing my lock, I looked into my locker. It was almost empty, except for a small binder, a reading book, and my backpack. Once I cleared everything out, I removed my lock and slammed the locker shut. "Won't be needin' this anymore," I said.

"Ugh, my backpack is so _heavy_," Rebecca complained.

"That's why I already took all my other crap home, like a _smart_ person," I laughed. Rebecca made a face at me in annoyance, but I just continued to laugh.

"Can you believe it?" I asked as the five of us walked out of the school together. "This time next week we'll be _freshies_!"

"I know! High school's gonna be awesome!" Carrie agreed with me.

My friends began to talk about what they were going to over summer and began planning times to get together. My mood was saddened when I realized I couldn't really commit to hanging out with them over summer. With the Decepticons possibly keeping an eye (optic?) on me, the Autobots didn't want me to take any chances. And neither did I.

Soon the time came for me to leave the group and get to my ride.

"See you tomorrow!" my friends yelled.

"I'm skipping tomorrow!" was my reply. The following school day was the trip to Magic Mountain. My interest in rollercoaster's is very low, so spending the day at home was more appealing than walking around an amusement park for hours.

There was a pause before Jenny shouted, "See you _Thursday_!"

I laughed to myself as I continued down the sidewalk towards the golden yellow car near the other end of the street. As I got closer, I jogged the last few steps and stopped at the passenger door. I opened the door and, as carefully as I could, placed my bag on the floor. I quickly got myself into the car, closed the door behind me, and buckled the seatbelt.

Slouching in my seat, I put my feet on the dashboard of the car, a smile on my face. While I was busy in relishing in my bliss, someone started yelling at me.

"Hey, hey! Feet _off_ the dashboard," the voice commanded.

I rolled my eyes and repositioned my legs to the floor. "Yes your Majesty," I muttered under my breath. I wasn't really trying to let him _not_ hear me, it was just a habit. Sunny's holoform glared at me, but I just gave him a "whatever" look.

"What are you so happy about anyways? Don't you still have another three days of school?"

"Well, yeah, but today was my last day of actual _school_," I explained. It made perfect sense to me, but I could tell Sunny didn't understand. With a sigh, I tried again. "Tomorrow is the trip to Magic Mountain, so I'm skipping that, Thursday is practice for promotion, and Friday _is _promotion. Get it?"

"Got it."

"Good, 'cause I don't wanna repeat myself."

Silence followed our short conversation. I myself was daydreaming about finally being able to sleep in on week days, not having homework, and (with my mom's permission) hanging out at the 'Bot base. My thoughts soon turned to the road, though. The familiar sensation of turning was absent. Instead, we were moving along in the same straight line.

"Good goin'," I mock congratulated him while opening my eyes. My instincts had been right. Sunny was making his way past the gas station that we usually turned at. "You missed the turn."

"No I didn't," Sunny replied.

"Uh, _yeah_, you did. Your heading towards my house, not the base."

"Exactly."

I gave him a confused look. Why was he taking me back? Crossing my arms, I fixed a glare on his holoform. "You're not blowing me _off_, are you?"

His lack of a response was answer enough for me.

My jaw dropped, "You _are _blowing me off! I can't believe it! Well, actually I can since this is _you_ we're talking about, but still! The nerve!"

Sunny just smirked. I continued to glare at his holoform in return.

"Autobots and military only today," he explained.

"But they let me in all the time!"

"Yeah, well there's an important meeting tonight."

"I thought I was 'part of the team'." I said using air quotes seeing as how Optimus said the same words a few weeks beforehand.

Sunny was silent for a moment before responding with, "You're underage."

* * *

The front door slammed as I stalked into my house. I was grumbling to myself about stupid alien robots, and their stupid meetings with the stupid government. My bag was swung ungracefully to the ground near the kitchen. I headed to fridge to find something to eat.

"You're back early," a voice sounded from behind me. I turned for a moment to see my mom sitting on the couch in the adjoining living room.

I closed the fridge door, being unsuccessful in my hunt for finding something appealing to eat, and scoffed, "I've been banished." My feet then took me to the pantry. Scanning it quickly, I grabbed a bag of chips and joined my mom on the couch.

She was watching the news, which was reporting boring topics like politics. I rolled my eyes, not understanding why she insisted on watching it. It was always the same stupid stuff every stupid day. Nothing exciting happened. _Except when the Autobots crash landed in Palm Desert._ I smirked at the memory, how the media was freaking out about how six giant meteors had landed in relatively the same place. I for one found their distress hilarious. Everyone else? Well… it apparently caused a lot of problems for everyone else.

"And why's that?"

"Huh?" was my intelligent reply.

"Why have you been 'banished'?"

I wrinkled my nose, "Some meeting… probably with a secret, underground government agency bent on taking over the universe." A few chips were inserted into my mouth. "I bet the Autobots are helping" I mumbled around my food.

"Then why do they have human friends?" my mom countered.

"It's just a façade," I explained. "They just want to get close enough to enslave our minds and then have us serve their every whim. And when they're done and have had their fun, they'll suck out our brains and turn it into energon!" I grabbed my head with both my hands, and pretended to be having my brain sucked out.

My mom merely sighed in response. "Sometimes I wonder if you need help."

Nodding my head, I settled back into the couch and continued to eat my chips as if nothing out of the ordinary had happened, "I really do."

* * *

At first, all I heard was talking. There were multiple voices, and none sounded familiar. _What the hell?_

As my senses were coming back to me, and my mind started clearing up, I realized what the sound was. TV. I opened my eyes, but promptly shut them as harsh light practically blinded me. With a groan, I forced myself into a sitting position and blinked my eyes a few times. Looking out the window, I saw that it was dark outside. And since I could hear my mom in the kitchen, I was guessing it was somewhere between six and seven. A quick glance at the TV's clock confirmed my suspicion. _Guess I fell asleep._

After stretching a bit and rubbing my eyes, I stood up. Once standing, I yawned and made my way to the island. I sat myself down into one of the bar stools, put my elbows on the glass bar, and rested my head on my hands.

"Dinner will be ready soon," my mom informed me. I looked to the right and saw two pots on the stove, one big, one small. _Spaghetti._

I sighed in response and put my head down. It really wasn't the most comfortable position since my chair was higher than usual, but I didn't care at the moment. _So. Bored._

A few minutes passed, and a plate was placed in front of me. I mumbled a quick 'thanks' before digging in.

Once dinner was out of the way, I grabbed my cell phone from my bag and went back to my room. I jumped onto my bed and flipped open my phone. A frown was soon set on my face.

No messages.

No calls.

I narrowed my eyes. _They didn't even bother to call? Oh, just wait 'til I give them a piece of my mind!_ I scrolled through my contacts list, pressing the buttons harder than necessary. The Autobots had figured out a way for the humans to call their com links with a phone. It really did come in handy.

After I clicked the desired name, I put the phone to my ear. I waited for Sides to connect.

And waited.

And waited.

Frowning, I brought the phone away from my ear. I hung up, and tried calling his brother.

Still no answer.

_Damn twins,_ I thought to myself bitterly. I threw my phone onto my carpeted floor, and fell back on my bed. There was definitely something going on… but what? _This better not be one of their stupid pranks… or a setup for one of their stupid pranks._

With a sigh, I sat up and opened the laptop that was next to me, surfing the net for anything interesting.

After a while, I had a hefty list of bookmarks to videos that I knew the twins would be interested in. They rather enjoyed watching 'stupid squishies doing stupid things', as they had so kindly put it.

Satisfied, I closed the computer, and placed it on the ground next to my bed. I then stooped down to grab my phone, but had the urge to chuck it through the window once I flipped it open.

Still no word from the twins. Or anyone, for that matter.

I thought about calling them up again, but decided against. Instead, I called a different 'bot. _Blurr will answer my call. _He_ likes me._

Well, I thought wrong. My call was never connected, and I had to hang up. It was then that I started calling every Autobot on my phone.

I couldn't help the pounding of my heart when all of my calls had failed. There just had to be an explanation for it. What if they weren't allowed to see me anymore? What if they were in the middle of a battle? What the Decepticons attacked- _Ok, ok, calm down. _I forced myself to take a deep breath before starting to think it all through again.

_Ok, what could they possibly be doing that would cause _everyone_ to ignore my calls?_

My brain tried and tried, but couldn't come up with an answer. It couldn't be patrols, because I'd called them before while they were patrolling. Their com links weren't down since Ratchet and Wheeljack had just checked them all a few weeks beforehand.

I was about to give up when I finally remembered something.

"_Autobots and military only today… important meeting tonight."_

That was it! The whole reason I wasn't even _at_ the base. It was that stupid government meeting! I slapped my forehead with my hand. _God, am I slow or what?_

Satisfied with finding the problem, I was able to breath easy again and continue on with my night.

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Somewhat of a short chapter. I'm hoping the next ones will be longer.

Remember, reviews are always welcomed and appreciated :)

-Panic Switch


	2. Chapter 2

A/N Second chapter! Woo! Thank you KimTheKat, Elita One, The Pumpkin Guardian, Flower K. Owl, Celestial-Prime-15, Deception is Decepticon, and TheBigMystery for reviewing! And a big thanks to everyone else that has read this story, favorited, and added it to story alert so far!

Also, there's a **poll up on my profile. Go vote on it, k thnx.**

**Respond time, WOO!**

**KimTheKat- **Yeah, being a freshie has been quite an adventure. Although, I'm rather enjoying it. It's easier to guilt trip the seniors when you're 'a cute, little, baby freshman'.

**Flower K. Owl- **Danger? Now why would there be danger in a story about alien robots at war? Perish the thought.

**Deception is Decepticon-** This story is eye catching? Really? Yay!

* * *

Chapter 2

Blackness was all my eyes could see. There was a loud buzzing noise in my ears. Was I dreaming? When the sound continued, my mind became clearer.

Man, that noise was annoying.

Control of my limbs came next. My arm came up from under the sheets and went to the empty space next to me. The hand attached was feeling around the bed. What was I looking for again?

Oh yeah, my phone.

The cold material came in contact with my skin. I fumbled with it momentarily before I managed to flip it open. It was then promptly shut and dropped back onto the bed, silencing the vibrating noise.

I heaved a sigh, and let out a long groan into my pillow. There was no way I'd be able to get back to sleep now. I then propped myself up onto my elbows. My eyes were just barely cracked open enough for me to see. _I hate mornings._

Remembering the reason I was awake, I picked up my phone. Upon opening it, I saw the cause of the noise.

I had received a text message from Sideswipe.

Smiling, I opened it and read it's contents:

_We won't be able to leave the base until further notice._

_Sides_

My smile faltered. I reread the message again. What the hell was going on? Since when were the twins confined to the base?

_They must've pulled one _hell_ of a prank during that meeting last night._

I sent back a simple response of 'k', being too lazy to write much more. With a sigh, I rolled out of my warm bed. I trudged around my bed to the door that lead out of my room and into the hallway.

I didn't go far before I turned to my right and opened the door that went to my bathroom. After switching on the lights, I blinked a few times before my eyes were used to the artificial light.

Looking in the mirror, I grimaced at the sight I saw. My hair was sticking out at odd angles all over. I opened one of my drawers and withdrew a hair-tie to use.

Once my hair was looking halfway decent, I resumed my trek down the hallway. Nearing the end of it, noise from the TV drifted towards me. The people talking sounded overly happy… it annoyed me to no end. I then heard a little clicking noise that only came from one thing: my dog, Lassie. She rounded the corner with her ears back and tail wagging. She barked happily at me and let her tongue hang out.

Being in the hallway, however, her high-pitched bark echoed all around me, flaring up a dormant headache. I moaned in response and brought my hands to my temples. "_Lassie_… shut _up_."

Luckily for me, her ears perked up, having picked up a new noise, and she scampered back the way she had come. I followed at a much slower pace.

Finally in the kitchen, I went to the pantry to grab cereal for breakfast.

"Morning." I didn't have to look to know who had greeted me. There was only one other being that was capable of speech in the house.

"Ugh."

"You're up early," my mom noted. Even though it was already 9:30, it was still considered early for _me._

Having picked out a box of cereal that sounded mildly appealing, I slammed the pantry door closed. "Sideswipe," was my only response.

"Oh," my mom sounded a bit surprised. I guess she remembered how I yelled at the twins for waking me up early one weekend. "And how's he?"

By this time, my bowl was now filled with milk and cereal. I was grabbing a spoon from the drawer when I answered, "Dunno." I dropped my spoon into the bowl. "Don't care." Thankfully, my mom didn't pry anymore.

I brought my breakfast with me as I sat down at the island. As I ate, I watched the talk show that was on TV.

After a few minutes, my empty bowl was rinsed out and placed in the sink. I quickly retreated back to my room.

Now that I was more awake, I decided to ask Sideswipe _why_ he and Sunstreaker couldn't leave the base.

I entered the message into my phone, and sent it on its way.

Several minutes later, and I had no reply. _What, they can't even _talk_ to me, now?_

I resent the message, to Sunstreaker this time, but got the same result.

Frowning to myself, I decided to call the one 'bot I had never dared contact before: Prowl. He had strictly told me to call him and the other higher ups in case of an emergency _only_. But hey, this was an emergency, I reasoned with myself. The twins hadn't contacted me at _all_ about their current condition, and I was afraid everyone was dead… yeah, that's it.

Before I had time to regret and rethink my decision, I clicked Prowl's name and put the phone to my ear.

But just as the night before, the call never went through.

_Ok… I think _now _is the appropriate time to panic._

Maybe something really did happen the night before. But Sides would have mentioned that. My eyes widened.

What if that wasn't Sideswipe?

_But it came through his number,_ I argued with myself.

So? I bet they could hack into each other's systems. They _were_ robots, after all. And it didn't seem too farfetched for a Decepticon to do.

I looked down at my phone. There was no one I could contact that could tell me what was going on… or maybe there was.

One name popped into my mind surprisingly fast.

But I wasn't sure.

I mean I didn't know him too well. I already didn't like calling people I was _friends_ with, so calling a stranger? Not too appealing.

What choice did I have though? It was either spend my days worrying and wondering, hoping someone would tell me what was going on, or man up and make a stupid phone call.

I winced a bit at the last thought. Man, I sounded like a wimp.

With a sigh, I left my room once more and went into the nearby office. Looking around my mom's desk, I found what I needed.

I picked up a pink book with a floral design on it. Opening it up, I flipped through the pages until I came to the 'W' section. Apparently, my mom didn't know too many people with 'W' last names, because the number I needed was second on the list.

After locating the number, I typed it into my cell phone. I looked down at my phone, my thumb hovering over the 'Call' button.

This was it. This would either work, or just make things worse. Taking a breath, I clicked the button and put the phone to my ear.

To my surprise, the phone only rang once before being picked up.

"Witwicky residence!" a female voice said cheerily from the other line. Ok, not who I was looking for.

"Hi Mrs. Witwicky," I said with a forced smile. "This is Paris. You know, from the-"

"Oh, _Paris_! Hello Dear! How are you doing?"

"Um, I'm doing well. How are-"

"And your mother?" she interrupted me again. I had a feeling this would be a constant during our conversation. So much for ending this quickly.

I decided it was best to just go along with her. "She's good too. How's everyone there?"

"Aren't you sweet? I'm doing great."

"That's good. I was wondering if-"

"You _know_, Sam was actually able to get into a good college over there in California. To tell you the truth, I'm surprised. Oh, but don't tell him that!"

An awkward chuckle came from my end. "Heh, yeah, _speaking_ of Sam-"

"_And_ Sam is taking Bumblebee with him. Don't get me wrong, he's very sweet, but I just can't live with an alien in my garage."

"Yeah, that must be hard," I replied, pausing for a moment after, expecting her to start talking again. When she didn't, I took my chance to actually say something, "Listen, I was wondering if I could talk to Sam real quick? Just… chat?"

"I would gladly get him for you, but he and Bumblebee left about an hour ago," she said, the cheery tone still in her voice.

My face fell, "Oh… well, when will they back?"

"Oh, no. Sam's _moving_. To California? He wants to get used to the area," she clarified.

"Could I have his number then? Or Bee's?"

"Sure, Dear! I have his number around here somewhere…" I heard rustling noises on the other end as Judy searched for the number. "Ron?" she yelled. "Do you have Sam's number?" There was some grumbling in response; I assumed it came from Mr. Witwicky.

I was silent for a few minutes as the two adults argued with each other. They finally came upon Sam's number (it was posted on the fridge the whole time) and promptly gave it to me. We then said our goodbyes, and hung up.

Letting out a breath of air, I slumped back in the office chair. Well, _that_ was an unnecessarily long phone call. At least I got what I wanted. I glanced at the number that I written onto the palm of my hand, being unable to find a scrap piece of paper.

With another sigh, I put the new number into the phone and waited for an answer.

It took a few rings, but the line was eventually picked up.

"Mom, I'm _fine_. You don't need to call me every five minutes to see if I'm driving safely, ok? I'm not even driving! Bee is!"

I was silent for a moment, trying to register what just happened.

"Hello?" the voice from the other line asked.

"Um… this isn't your mom. I'm Paris?"

Now it was Sam's turn to be silent.

"The one that got dragged from California to Nevada by the twins?"

"Oh! Yeah, sorry," Sam responded, remembering who I was. "So… what's up?"

"Can you put me on speaker? I want to talk to you and Bee."

"Sure, yeah, hold on a sec." There was a short pause before he spoke again. "Can you hear me alright?" Sam asked, his voice sounding distant.

"Yup."

"_Can you hear me cry out to you?" _**(1)**

I blinked in surprise. Was that the radio?

"That's Bee," Sam answered my unasked question. "His voice processor was damaged again. He wants to know if you can hear him."

"Yeah, I can hear you fine, Bee," I responded. Well, this conversation was going to a bit difficult now.

"What do ya need?" Sam asked.

I quickly thought of what I should say. I didn't want to worry them and make the situation worse, "I was wondering if Bee could contact one of the Autobots over here. They're ignoring me, and I think it has something to do with me helping the twins pull a prank off." Sure, it wasn't exactly the truth. But it _might_ have something to do with it. Although, I seriously doubted that.

Sam laughed a bit, "I'm sure Bee could do that."

"_You can count on me- hold on a second-,_" was the radio's reply. It was weird. Bee flipped through the stations quickly and was able to piece together sentences. _How does he know what's on?_

As Bumblebee was busy trying to contact someone, Sam and I were left in an awkward silence. I fidgeted in my seat a bit, racking my brain for a subject. "So…" I trailed off, still not exactly sure what to talk about. Then the word 'college' popped into my mind. "Which college are you going to down here?"

"Northridge."

"Oh, cool… hope there aren't any bad earthquakes there." I laughed a bit at my own comment, but Sam didn't join in. Of course, why would he? He lived in Nevada; he probably didn't even _remember_ the Northridge Earthquake. It wasn't even a funny joke. My laughter stopped and I went back to just staring at the wall across from me and tapping my foot on the floor.

I so knew this would happen. This is what _always_ happened when I had to talk to a stranger. Small talk lasts for a few seconds, and then we fall into an uncomfortable silence. I began to wonder why this didn't happen when I was with the Autobots. It probably had to do with the fact that they actually had _jobs_ to do. You couldn't find any of them in an unintended silence. They had better things to do then create small talk that would inevitably be shot down; like blow shit up in the training room.

To my relief, Bumblebee came back. The radio sounded, switching randomly through the stations to let us know he was back.

"What's up, Bee?" Sam asked.

"_Can't say- I promise-,_" was the reply.

I frowned in response, "So, did you actually _talk_ to anyone?"

"_Si._"

"And why can't you say anything about it?" Sam inquired this time.

Bee expertly flipped through the stations to respond, "_They want- to say it- in- person." _**(2)**

A scowl was on my face, "And how am I supposed to get to the base? My mom and I can't get in there without an Autobot, and they can't even _leave_ the base." As soon as the words left my mouth, I slapped a hand over my mouth. _Stupid! Stupid! Why did I say that?_ Well that pretty much just made the situation worse.

"Wait, what?" Sam said in an alarmed voice. "They can't leave the base?"

"Well… the twins can't; they told me. But I didn't want to go all the way down there just to be turned down, and it's not like I could ask anyone to come out because they're all ignoring me, and I really just don't know what to do right now, and I'm _trying_ not to freak out right now, but I'm pretty much failing at that as you can see…" my voice broke off, and my outburst ceased. I took a few deep breaths to help calm my frantically beating heart.

This only seemed to make Sam even more flustered, "Um, well, uh…"

"_Next week's forecast-_," came the radio.

"Huh?"

"_Who's gonna drive you- I can-_"

_I_ didn't have a clue as to what Bee was saying, but Sam obviously figured it out. "We can take you to the base next week," Sam explained. "I need to move into my apartment, so I'll be busy the next few days. But once I'm done, Bee and I can take you with us to the base and see what's going on."

I brightened up at the plan, "Really?"

"Sure."

Breathing a sigh of relief, I thanked Sam and Bee. Sam was going to call within the next week to tell me how things on his end were going. Then once he was ready, we'd go to Point Mugu, the military base the Autobots were staying at.

* * *

**(1) **Do you know how hard it is to write Bumblebee's speech like this? I was stuck on the first line for like, twenty minutes… at _least_. The things I do for you guys…

**(2) **I've noticed that people tend to only use songs for Bee. And only full phrases from those songs. I think if he can flip through the radio and know what's on, he can create actual _sentences_ with words from songs and talk shows.

… I really like this chapter. It makes me happy for some reason. Not complainin', just can't figure out why… maybe it's because it's the _second_ chapter? Who knows? I sure as hell don't.

Y'know, if you leave a review, you'll be acknowledged at the beginning of every chapter. I might even respond to yours.

E-cookies might make the next chapter come faster. No guarantees, but it can't hurt.

-Panic Switch


	3. Chapter 3

A/N This chapter was not planned on. This story is about to go a different route than what I first intended it to be… I can feel it. As of now, this story has a mind of its own. Thanks for reviewing, KimTheKat, Elita One, The Pumpkin Guardian, Flower K. Owl, Celestial-Prime-15, Deception is Decepticon, TheBigMystery, and angelswings217. You all made me smile and break out into song. Ok, maybe not the last part, but you get the picture.

_**MY POLL IS STILL UP, SO VOTE IF YOU HAVEN'T, K THNX.**_

**Responding to Reviews, YAY:**

**TheBigMystery: **Oh, there will definitely be chaos *laughs evilly*

**The Pumpkin Guardian: **It's killing me too! I honestly don't know where this story is going anymore…

**angelswings217: **Yup, this one has an actual plot! Yippee!

* * *

Chapter 3

The room was mostly silent, aside from the occasional typing of keys. But each time a sequence was pressed, it was followed by a groan and then more silence. This was the pattern that continued throughout the day.

The only person in the office was staring intently at her screen. She had a pair of headphones around her neck, one earpiece being held to her ear. The screen showed a sound bit being played over and over again. Although, it wasn't as if anyone could understand what was being said; not even the Autobots. It was coded Cybertronian.

_Maggie unlocked the door to her small apartment. She flicked the lights on and found everything unchanged; as expected. Making her way to the bedroom in the back, she lugged her bag behind her. Normally, this meant that she had just come back from a meeting abroad. But, her situation wasn't all that normal. Scratch that, her _life_ wasn't all that normal. Not since meeting the Autobots, at least._

_Taking a sidelong glance at the clock next to her bed, Maggie saw that it was almost two in the morning. She debated if she should get into bed. On the one hand, she wasn't all too tired at the moment. Even if she got into bed, she probably wouldn't fall asleep for a few hours. On the other hand… she had to go to work tomorrow- er, today._

_With an almost defeated sigh, the blonde made her way to the bathroom._

After another failed attempt, Maggie leaned back in her chair. She let her head hang back, and her eyes stared up at the ceiling. This signal was a _lot_ harder to crack than that other one. But the signal itself was shorter. It was a wonder that someone had been around and was able to record it. Thank goodness they had, because they weren't able to record the second one.

_Two seconds. She looked away for _two seconds._ But that's all it took for her to miss it._

_It was a series of clicking and buzzing. The sudden noise made Maggie jump in her seat. She looked at her screen automatically. Her eyes widened. The computer screen was informing her that the satellites had picked up something. She fumbled with the keys, trying to get the recorder to start._

"_I've got something!" she yelled. Usually, there would've been a chorus of similar words if something had come up. The difference this time was that it was almost midnight, and Maggie was one of four people actually in the office. To make matters worse, she was the only one with the computer skills needed to trace, record, and crack the signal._

_She was soon surrounded by the others as she continued to type furiously. "No, no, no…" she whispered._

_As quickly as it had appeared, the signal vanished as if it never existed. Maggie slammed her hands down on either side of her keyboard, "Dammit!"_

Bringing her hands to her face, Maggie rubbed her eyes. They were starting to sting from staring at the computer for so long. She brought her hands down to the desk and pushed herself away from it. It would be alright if she took a five minute break. That recording wasn't going anywhere.

_Maggie plopped herself down on the couch, container of fast food in hand, and turned on the TV. She flipped through the channels as she ate, trying to find something interesting on. Weather, talk show, talk show, reality show, news, ta- wait, what was that? The TV screen was now showing the evening news, and it caused Maggie's mouth to drop open. _

"_-what appears to be a meteor, but upon a closer look-" the screen switched to a blurry close-up of something falling from the sky, "we can see that it is in fact made of _metal_."_

No, not again… _She'd seen this before. It was barely a month beforehand that six 'meteors' had landed in Southern California. NEST had informed her through work that they were Autobots, and there was no need to worry. But of course, she did worry._

_The screen then showed an image of a press conference. There were camera flashes and reporters talking over each other. The man at the podium put a hand up, hoping to silence the crowd, but failed. So, the man just began to talk, "I assure you that there is nothing to worry about. It was a test that went wrong, but no one was injured-"_

"_What exactly _were _those things?" came an off-screen voice._

"_That is classified information that has to do with military affairs-"_

"_The public deserves to know!"_

_The man nodded, "I agree, and that's why I told the public all I can."_

_The press conference disappeared and was replaced by some more blurry, home footage. Only _this_ footage was from a month earlier. "Here we see an event that occurred only a mere few weeks ago. Six 'meteors' landed in Southern California, only to vanish completely, leaving only giant craters in their wake. This too was said to be related to a military test."_

Maggie headed to the bathroom at the end of the hallway. She stood at the sinks that lined one whole wall. Turning on the faucet, she ran her hands under the cold water. She cupped her hands, and collected some of the running water. Lowering herself down a bit, she splashed her face. Her hands turned the water off. She kept her head down and over the sink, letting some of the water dribble off her nose.

_Feeling her phone vibrate, Maggie's hand went down to her pocket. She withdrew the phone and looked at the name of the caller, only to roll her eyes at the name. Nonetheless, she still answered._

"_What?"_

"_Maggie! Maggie? Is it actually you?" came a panicked voice._

_With a sigh, she replied, "Yes, Glen, this is Maggie."_

"_But how do I know for sure?" _

"_Good God, Glen!"_

"_Ok, ok, I guess I'll take my chances," he complied reluctantly. Maggie rolled her eyes again._

"_So why exactly did you call?"_

_And thus began an exponentially long tale about a group of 'Men In Black wannabes' coming to Glen's house, trying to 'force him into working for them'. "But, I ain't getting involved with any of them!" Glen cried. "I already told them that I didn't want _anything_ to do with these aliens! Do you remember what happened to my cell phone?"_

_Maggie had a brief flashback involving a miniature robot with a machine gun, "Yes…"_

"_I'm still not over that, Maggie! I haven't even gotten a new phone yet!"_

_With a sigh, Maggie rubbed her face with her free hand, unsure of what to say. "Look, Glen, I'm not really sure how to tell you th-"_

"_And _another_ thing!" Glen interrupted. "I swear that one of my neighbors has a car that's actually one of _them_! I keep hearing-"_

"_Glen!" Maggie yelled over the phone. "I'm _working_ for those 'Men In Black wannabes' you were talking about."_

_There was a brief moment of silence from the other, followed by a clicking noise. _

_Maggie frowned, "Glen?" Pulling her phone away from her ear, Maggie saw that Glen had hung up on her._

Maggie reached for the nearby paper towels and tugged out one. She brought it to her face and wiped off the excess water. Looking up into the mirror, she studied her face. Her eyes were red and bloodshot from lack of sleep. If she wasn't staying late at the office to work, she was tossing and turning in bed. She also noted that there were dark circles beginning to form just under her eyes.

She threw the wadded up paper towel in her hand away before leaving the restroom. It was time to get back to work.

By the end of the day she wasn't any farther along than she was that morning. But this was what she was beginning to expect.

Maggie started to gather her things when something made her stop. It sounded like a series of buzzes and clicks… Her hands immediately went to her keyboard. A signal was being transmitted at that moment and the satellites were picking it up. This time, Maggie was able to start the recording to capture the signal.

The transmission ended, and Maggie was able to stop the recording. She brought up the other signal on her computer and played both simultaneously; they were identical.

Maggie's eyes trailed down to her half packed bag and then back to her computer screen. She bit her lip. Should she stay?

With a sigh, she settled back into her seat.

* * *

Three days had come and gone since the third signal had come through.

She was so close; she could feel it. Once she got through, she would be able to see just where the signal was being sent. But who knew how long _that_ would take?

Her eyes darted to the flash drive on her desk. She'd done it before. But she _was_ almost thrown in jail for it.

Leaning back in her chair, she craned her neck back to look out the door. From what she could see, no one was in the hallway.

She plugged the flash drive into her computer and began to copy the recording into it. Footsteps approached her office. Maggie just continued to look at her screen, her fingers typing away. The footsteps passed her.

Moving just her eyes, Maggie checked to see if anyone else was near her door; the coast was clear.

The recording was finished being copied onto the flash drive, so Maggie removed it from her computer and dropped it into her open bag. She had to pay someone a visit that night.

* * *

By the time Maggie arrived at her destination, the sky was black and the streetlights were shining brightly. The house she was in front of was dark, except for one lit window on the first floor. She approached the house with a bit of caution.

Once at the door, Maggie knocked on the door softly, hoping it was loud enough for someone who was up to hear, but not wake anyone up.

Only a few moments had passed before the door was opened. Although, it could only be opened a few inches, as someone had installed a chain lock on the inside of the door. Through the crack, Maggie was able to make out the form of a person in a robe.

"Maggie! What are you doing here? I told you not to come here!" The panicked man looked around the yard behind his visitor, "You didn't come with _them _did you?"

"No, but-" Maggie tried to explain her case, but was cut off.

"No! _You_ work for _them_, and I don't want anything to do with _them_, therefore I don't want anything to do with _you_!"

"Glen, pull yourself together," Maggie tried to calm him down.

But, he would have no part in it, "Don't talk to me! You're working for some underground agency that works with alien robots! I told you about my neighbor, right?"

Maggie sighed, "Yes, but this is really important." She withdrew the flash drive from her pocket. "I have something I need you to look at."

Glen's eyes widened in interest, but he soon shook himself out it. Maggie caught that look, though. "Oh no, not this again. Last time you did this I almost got sent to jail! No, I will have no part of this."

He then attempted to shut the door, but Maggie pressed herself up against it to keep it open. "Don't you want to see something classified?" she pleaded.

"No!" Glen exclaimed, still struggling to close the door.

"Not even something _more_ classified than the last?"

"No!"

"But you could be the world's only hope for survival!"

Glen didn't respond. There was a moment of silence before Maggie heard a whine. "You just _had_ to guilt trip me, didn't you?" Maggie smiled to herself and stepped away from the door.

The door was shut, as Glen fumbled with the chain lock. It was reopened, this time all the way, to let Maggie in. Glen sighed and motioned for her to come in.

Maggie followed the unwilling man back to his room. Looking around the house, she saw that it had changed a bit. Every single piece of technology was strapped down, as if it might get up and walk away if it wasn't. Well, considering Glen's state of mind, he probably thought it would.

Once in Glen's room, the hacker sat down on the chair in front of his computer. He wordlessly held out his hand for Maggie. She handed off the flash drive to him. Glen held it up in front of his face briefly, as if contemplating if he really wanted to go through with it. After heaving a sigh, he plugged it into his computer. "Let's get this over with," he muttered.

He brought the recording up and began looking through it.

"There's a message embedded in it," Maggie began to explain, "But there's something blocking us from viewing it."

Glen nodded and began typing into his keyboard.

Only a few minutes had passed and Glen was in. "Got it."

Maggie looked up, surprised, "Really? How?"

"It was easy, I just-"

"Ok, later, but right now just focus." She leaned forward to get a better look at he screen. The embedded message turned out to be a serial number. Maggie frowned, "Isn't that a number for a satellite."

"Uh huh," Glen confirmed. "Looks like they bounced it off to throw us off. I just need to get into _their_ system, and I can see where the signal was sent to." He continued to work on his computer, but soon sighed. "They bounced it off someone's computer…"

"How long will this take?"

"Depends on how many systems the signal was bounced off of and how much security they have."

Maggie sighed and ran a hand through her hair. "In other words, you have no idea."

* * *

POV change, what the heck? I don't know what my brain is thinking at the moment. I mean, it's even considering writing (once this sequel is done) this story from the Decepticons' POV.

Wee, it's Glen and Maggie! There is a lack of stories with these two, and I want to change that! They really are useful characters.

Well… things are changin' up in the storyline. I have a feeling that this could quite possibly be stretched out for a long while. I mean, I have about 7-8 chapters planned out, and I'm not even at the main conflict yet.

Next chapter is already being worked on! But my brain might not work this weekend due to the Oscars, and Alice in Wonderland (technically, not the weekend since I'm seeing it on Monday…) Anyways, I'm hoping to get it up soon!

Ciao for now. (I think I might end all of my chapters with a different saying)

-Panic Switch


	4. Chapter 4

A/N A big shout out to KimTheKat, Elita One, The Pumpkin Guardian, Flower K. Owl, Celestial-Prime-15, Deception is Decepticon, TheBigMystery, angelswings217, Heaven's Archer, and 2GrayBoys for reviewing! Hugs and cookies for **ALL** of you!

**RESPONSE TIME, WEE:**

**TheBigMystery: **Yeah, they really would've given Soundwave a run for his money! And you'll be pleased to know that they'll be showing up again within the next few chapters :) I love writing those two!

**Heaven's Archer: **I need to put on sunglasses your teacher's glowing pride is so intense. I'm glad it isn't corny! That's what I'm trying to avoid!

**2GrayBoys: **Well, now you get to read another chapter! Are there really two of you?

Disclaimer: I also don't own Google or Google Maps.

* * *

Chapter 4

Summer.

Summer is supposed to be fun.

Summer is supposed to be relaxing.

Summer is _not_ when you're supposed to be wondering if the alien robots you're friends with are even alive anymore. Definitely not during _summer_.

Yet, this was the situation I found myself in. Lucky me.

It had become apparent to my mother very quickly that something was stressing me out. "What's wrong?" she asked not-so-subtlely during dinner.

I grimaced in response. If I replied with 'Nothin'', she probably would drop the subject. But that would only last until the next day. The idea of having to tell her what the situation was, though, wasn't very appealing. I always found it awkward to talk to my mom when 'feelings' were involved.

I looked over at her expectant form. It didn't look like I had much of a choice. "There's stuff going on with the Autobots, and they won't tell me what it is," I answered with a slight shrug. If I made it seem like not such a big deal, than my mom wouldn't pry or worry.

Even my dad had noticed that something was off with in the firs few seconds of talking to me on the phone.

"You ok?" he had asked.

Forcing myself not to sigh in annoyance, I answered him the same way as I had to my mom. My dad was aware of the Autobots' existence since he was my _dad_. I wasn't about to keep this big of a secret from him. And I knew that he would think it was the coolest thing to ever happen in his life.

Since my parents had found it relatively easy to spot that something was bothering me, I was afraid my friends would easily see it too. And what was I supposed to tell _them_? But luck was on my side for once, and they either didn't notice or didn't want to bring it up. The good thing about my friends is that they usually never asked if something was wrong; they just wait for me to bring it up, and vice versa. It was a handy little system that worked in times like these. Although, if they did notice, I felt bad leaving them for summer on a bad note.

But I couldn't go back in time and change it, so I would just have to live with it.

A few days after summer had started, I got a voicemail from Sam. _Oops. Guess I missed _that_ call._

To my disappointment, Sam had called to say that he wouldn't be able to come over for at least another week. Yippee.

As I sat in the office one day and surfed the net, something hit me. _I_ had absolutely no idea how to get to the Autobots' base. Sure, I knew its relative spot, but I didn't exactly pay attention to all of the details. So, having come upon this great epiphany, I decided it best to print out directions from online.

Man, the Internet was a life saver.

Once I found the military base I needed on Google Maps, I brought up the directions from my house to it. After quickly looking over them, I started to print them out, knowing I would never be able to remember them.

As the printer rumbled to life, I began to look at the map that showed the base. I realized that these were _satellite_ pictures. It dawned on me that they could easily pick up the Autobots if they spent to much time outside.

Of course, the government was probably aware of this being a possible problem and leafed through the photos before they were released publically. At least, that's what I hoped they did. They weren't _that_ stupid… right? I shuddered at the thought, and quickly put it out of my mind.

A series of beeping alerted me that the directions were done being printed. The paper was still warm as I pulled it out of the printer tray. I looked over the directions, doing my best to map out the route in my head.

Then, I realized something else. I didn't need the directions.

Bumblebee could lock into the other Autobots' location and just follow it with his internal GPS. "Dammit," I muttered, slamming the paper down on the table. Guess I killed a tree for nothing.

A little upset that my brain wasn't functioning completely, I shoved myself away from the table and got up. Out of habit, I closed the door behind me, even though there really was no need to do so.

I made my way to the living room, intent on sitting down and watching some TV. When I got there, I saw my mom putting on her sneakers, while my dog was running around and wagging her tail. "Going on a walk?" At the word 'walk' my dog let out a loud bark.

My mom nodded, "Please don't use the 'w' word."

"What 'w' word? _Walk_?" I enticed, hoping for a reaction. Lassie didn't disappoint; another bark sounded. My mom frowned at me in response. I put my hands up defensively, "I'm done, I swear." She resumed to tie her shoes while I sat down on the other side of the couch.

My mom got up a few moments later to grab the leash. "Want to come?"

I smiled, "Nope."

A sigh followed my response. "We'll be back soon," my mom said as she clipped the leash onto Lassie's collar. She shook herself in response.

"I know," was my reply.

"I'm locking the door."

"I _know_."

In a few short moments, the front door closed and a loud _click_ followed. Lassie's barking could be heard, as well as my mom's struggles to calm her down. _Glad I'm not out there._

Drumming my fingers on my leg, I tried to think of something to do. I could go on my computer… but, it was all the way back in my room. My eyes went to the remote that was next to me. TV it was.

_Ding dong._

I looked up in surprise. Now who the hell could that be? We hadn't ordered anything online, no one was coming over, and my mom had a key. So that only left one thing.

_Sales person._

I leaned back as far I could, attempting to see out the window. Although, the window that showed the front door was blocked from where I was. _Maybe they'll just leave a flyer?_

The thought was soon put aside as the doorbell was rung again.

With a sigh, I got up from the couch and went to the front door. Instead of opening it, though, I looked through the peephole. Hey, it _could_ be some creeper. I needed to make sure I could take 'em in case they tried anything on me. It could also pay to know where the knives were. Y'know, just in case.

I closed my right eye, and put my left one up to the little hole in the door. On the other side I could see a man in a tan business suit. He seemed a bit on the short side, but that could be because I was used to my 6'2'' dad and 6'4'' grandpa. He had on a pair of sunglasses in an interesting shade of purple. _I wonder where he got those… I want some._

Shaking my head a bit, I continued to look the man up and down. He was actually pretty good looking… but that smile made him look like a creep. I made no move to open the door, hoping he'd just go away if no one answered. But, he knocked on the door, his smile not having faltered a bit. _Damn, persistent salesman…_

Keeping in mind where the knives in my kitchen were located, I slowly opened the door. I forced my best smile, "Sorry for the wait."

"Not a problem, Miss," he replied smoothly. "May I ask to talk to either one of your parents?"

I crossed my arms and leaned on the doorway, "They're busy."

The man laughed a bit, "Well, I guess you can just pass on my message."

"Um, I'm kinda busy-"

"Oh, I can guarantee I'll make you an offer you can't refuse!" he interrupted cheerfully. And thus began his long-winded speech about who _knows_ what.

I could barely follow half of the words coming out his mouth. Some because I had never even _heard_ of it before, but mostly because he talked almost as fast as Blurr. At least _Blurr_ repeated what he said by habit, so I could usually catch what he was saying. But this guy just went on and on, speeding through the one sided conversation like no tomorrow.

"And that's not all we offer! If you're a loyal customer for at_ least_-"

"Um, excuse me?" I cut in finally. My head felt like it was spinning. _What exactly is he selling again?_

The man smiled broadly, "Yes?"

"What you're selling sounds great and all, but, um, I'm not eighteen, so I can't buy it, and my parents can't come to the door right now…" I replied, trying to give him the hint to leave.

He laughed. A little too loudly for my liking. _Creeeeperrrr._ "Well Miss, it just so happens that I have a few business cards on my person." In one fluid motion, he reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small card before offering it to me. I plucked it out of his hand.

"Thanks, Mr…" I scanned the card quickly, "Robinson."

"Anytime. Pleasure doing business." He gave a sort of half bow, before turning on his heel and walking away. Being immature, I stuck my tongue out at the back of his head. I closed the door quickly and made sure to lock it tight.

I looked at the card in my hand again and shook my head. _Salespeople_.

Holding the card away from me as if it were tainted, I headed to the office. No one wanted the card, so it's final destination was the paper shredder. I silently thanked my mom for getting one.

As I approached the office door, though, I heard a scratching noise. Scrunching my brow in confusion, I ever so slightly quickened my pace. Once outside the door, I heard a _mrrrow_ come from the other side… followed by more impatient scratching. Guess I accidently locked my cat, Cosmo, in there when I closed it earlier.

Upon opening the door, I gasped when Cosmo all but bolted out, barely managing to keep his balance on the tile flooring. As I watched him go down the hall, I noticed that his tail was fluffed up.

I turned my head back to office. My eyes widened and my jaw dropped at the sight.

Most of the papers that had been on my mother's desk were now strewn across it and the floor. My guess was that Cosmo had slipped on the table, or something, and knocked the piles of paper around, thus giving him a heart attack and making him freak out. _Damn cat._

Well, I _was_ going to shred those unneeded directions I had printed out earlier, but seeing the state the office was in, I just stuck with the business card. I went to the corner of the room where the shredder was located, avoiding as many papers as possible. The card was placed into the slot on the machine and I clicked the start button.

Satisfied with my work, I turned to leave. Before I actually started for the door, though, I looked around the office again. It was pretty messy… but I just shrugged. _Not my room, not my problem._ Besides, it wasn't like it was perfectly neat before. The state it was in now was just messi_er_. There was a chance that my mom wouldn't even really notice a difference.

I left the office for the second time that day, but decided to leave the door open this time. That way, if there were any more cats in there, the room wouldn't get even more trashed.

* * *

ARGH! Sorry this took me so long to write! I rewrote it a few times. I'm still not _completely_ happy with it, but I'm satisfied with the results. My mind is farther into the story already.

I'm also trying to figure out where to go with the plot! I know what I want to happen, I just need to figure out some of the in-between stuff. I _**had **_a plan, but my brain decided to throw in new characters (like the one featured in this chapter…) and new situations and I'm trying to sift through them all.

I'm almost done with the next chapter, so it should be up in a few days! With Spring Break coming up, I should be able to write more!

-Panic Switch


	5. Chapter 5

A/N Surprise! I'm not dead! and neither is this story!

Wow... it's been over a year... I really don't have a 'good' explanation as to why, other than just being busy and losing interest at some point. But, I really have this kick at the moment! It's summer now and something I really want to do with my time is writing. Everyday if I can. I'm working on original stories at the moment, and writing stuff on here is good practice. I haven't read my previous chapters/stories in a while, and I'm sure they're horrendous. But I don't really want to go back and change them... that's who I was at that time, and I'm positive my writing has gotten better.

ANYWAYS, I doubt you want to continue to read my ranting, so I'll let you read the story.

Disclaimer: I don't own Criminal Minds

* * *

Chapter 5

Usually, I'm a very patient person. When I am waiting for something/someone important, nerve wracking, or otherwise, I am not. At all.

I tried to read, but I would get to the bottom of each page, realizing that I had no idea what I had just read. I tried to listen to music, but I barely registered that it was being played. I considered calling one of my friends, but I just wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone.

After about half an hour of laying on my bed and just staring at ceiling, I got up. Half of me was mad that I was just wallowing around and wasting away; the other half wanted nothing more than to do just that.

Sam was finally free and had called the day before to say that he and 'Bee would be over today. Unfortunately, the day was dragging out and moving at an incredibly slow pace. I still had about an hour to kill until they were supposed to arrive at my house.

There just happened to be nothing to do. I couldn't even just talk to my mom, as she was out doing errands. Although, after I had thought about it, I didn't really want to talk to anyone. My nerves were getting the best of me. I just wanted to know what the hell was going on with the Autobots.

I relocated to the living room eventually and was trying to find something to watch on TV. The one thing that was on that I actually enjoyed was Criminal Minds. Even though it was a repeat, I settled for it.

Just as the cast of the show was about to break into the criminal's home, I saw something pass by the windows. My head snapped to the right to get a better look... only whatever it was wasn't there anymore. As I was turning back to the TV, there was a knock at the door. Looking at the clock above the TV I realized that the person knocking on the door had to be Sam.

Jumping from my seat, I turned the TV off before all but running to the door. I flung it open and, low and behold, there stood Sam. He didn't even get a greeting out before I closed the door and went past him.

"Oh, um, uh..." he trailed off, watching me get the extra key we kept outside to lock the door. "Hi?"

"Hey Sam!" I replied happily. Key in hand, I went back to the door and locked it. Not wanting to waste more time, I stuffed the key in my pocket. "C'mon, let's go already!"

Without waiting for Sam, I took off towards 'Bee, who was parked on the curb in front of my house. I climbed in the passenger side and hello to 'Bee. "_Goooood morning!_" blared from the speakers. It was still weird to me that he couldn't use his voice. Hopefully Ratchet would be able to patch him up again.

After buckling my seat belt, I looked up to see Sam coming around 'Bee's hood. The door on the driver's side swung open and Sam got in. "Someone's in a hurry," he sort of half-mumbled.

"Well, duh," I responded. "I've only had no contact with them for almost two weeks."

Sam shrugged a bit, not having anything else to say. With that, 'Bee pulled away from the curb and made his way out of the neighborhood.

* * *

The drive was spent mostly in silence. I was fine with being left to my own thoughts, but Sam seemed to be a bit uncomfortable. I had to admit, it was a little awkward. It wasn't as if we talked much before. Even then it wasn't really out of friendliness, just our situation.

Once I heard him shift in his seat for the umpteenth time, I decided to engage him in some small talk. "So," I started, waiting until I knew he was paying attention to continue. "College...'

"Yeah, I can't believe it," he said. "Doesn't seem real. I still remember the first day of high school." He grimaced a little at the memory, so I suspecting it wasn't a good day.

Letting out a bit of forced laughter, I replied, "Yup... and that's where I'll be at the end of August."

Sam looked over at me, "Oh yeah? Huh, thought you were older." I laughed a bit again before falling silent. Apparently, Sam wasn't all that good at small talk either. By this time he had turned back to look at the road. Getting the feeling that neither of us had anything else to offer up to our conversation, I let my eyes drift to the window on my side.

The road we were following curved along mountainsides. But soon the mountains were replaced with large fields. With the bright sun shining down on them, many of the fields had their sprinkler systems on. The water glistened in the light as it arched up into the air. There was something very peaceful about it all.

It wasn't long before 'Bee turned onto another road, taking us away from the fields. My head faced forward and I could see the base not too far ahead of us. A churning feeling entered my stomach as we got closer. I was preparing myself for the worst, although I wasn't really sure what the worst would be since 'Bee had talked to Optimus not too long ago. That thought didn't help much, though. I just knew that something bad was going on.

'Bee soon rolled up to the entrance of the base, which was closed and being guarded by one of the soldiers. He walked over to the driver's side as 'Bee rolled down the window, "Sorry kid, can't let you in."

"What?" Sam said in disbelief. My eyes widened and I slumped against my seat. "But, the Autobots need to talk to us. They told us to come!"

The man shook his head, "Gonna need more proof than that."

Sam turned to 'Bee's dashboard, "Hey, Bumblebee, patch us through to Optimus, kay?"

'Bee made a short, electronic whir in response before setting off to his task. It wasn't long before Optimus's voice boomed through his speakers.

"**Optimus here.**"

"The guard says he can't let us in without your permission. So... can we come in?" Sam asked.

There was a pause before Optimus answered, "**Under normal circumstances, I would have to say no. However, given our current situation and your ties to the Autobots, I believe it would be best for you to know what is going on. Is that an adequate enough reason to let them in, solider?**"

The man in question seemed to be debating something in his head. Eventually he nodded, probably deciding it best _not _to argue with the leader of the Autobots. Hey, I didn't blame him. The big guy could be pretty intimidating. The soldier walked over to the gate and opened it for us. "If I get any shit for this later..." he trailed off, not finishing his threat. As 'Bee drove through the gate, Sam nodded to the soldier in thanks and I let out a sigh of relief.

'Bee took us over to the hanger that the Autobots stayed in. The large, garage type door was already open, so 'Bee went right in. Once we came to a stop, Sam and I got out to allow 'Bee to transform into his bi-pedal mode.

From where we were, there were two different hallways we could take. The left hallway led to the recharge rooms, and the one on the right led to the Rec Room, Med Bay, lab, and offices. Even though I was pretty sure 'Bee knew where to go, he still let me lead the way down the right hallway.

The hall was clear of any others and all sounds were faint. Upon approaching the Rec Room, however, I could hear that the TV was on. When we passed by the opening, I slowed my stride to take a peak. In the far right corner was Mirage, reading a datapad. My eyes traveled to the left side of the room where I spotted the Jettwins sitting on the couch that faced the TV.

As I was about to step in to say 'hi', I felt Sam touch my shoulder. Looking over my shoulder at him, I saw that he was shaking his head. My gaze turned back to the Rec Room and its occupants before I bowed my head in defeat. Sam and 'Bee began to continue down the hall, and I stole one last look at the Rec Room before catching up with them.

Passing the Med Bay came next. The doors were closed, and there wasn't any sound other than a faint _crack _here and a soft _whir _there. It was clear, though, that Ratchet was inside, working on a project of his. We didn't spare the doors a second glance.

Soon, the large doors that led to Prime's office came into view. I stopped in front of them, Sam and 'Bee following suit. 'Bee stepped forward and pressed something on the keypad, causing the doors to slid open. In front of us was a large desk and none other than Optimus Prime. "Greetings. I am glad to see that you three made it here alright," he said.

Without warning, 'Bee scooped both me and Sam up, depositing us onto Prime's desk. Looking up at the gigantic robot in front of me, I realized that it had been a long time since I had actually seen him. Even before my almost daily visits abruptly stopped, Optimus was usually busy.

"I wish that our meeting could be under better circumstances," Optimus said.

"What exactly is going on?" Sam asked.

"As I am sure you are aware of, some, if not most, of the people in your government are not pleased with our being here. Unfortunately, their dissatisfaction only grew when they found that I had sent out a message, inviting any lost Autobots to this planet, without their permission." Sam snorted in response, but let Optimus continue. "In addition to this, we have not found an Allspark piece in quite some time. This has led the government to believe that the Decepticons have remained here because of us, the Autobots."

Sam and I both protested this. We shouted about how stupid they were and that more Autobots was a good thing when going up against Decepticons. Optimus raised a hand and we quieted down. I now had a scowl on my face and my arms crossed over my chest.

"They have made it clear that they would like us to leave the planet. For good."

My eyes widened and my arms dropped to my sides, "What?"

"They recommended that we drop contact with humans outside of the government and military. I only issued the order to the others in hope that the humans would see that we were cooperating and reassess their view of us." He nodded in my direction, " I apologize if this has caused you any distress."

"But, but you guys can't just _leave_," I protested.

"Yeah," Sam put in, "What happens when the Decepticons don't follow you?"

"There have not been arrangements for us to leave" Optimus said, causing Sam and I to let out sighs of relief. "But, that is not to say there won't be any in the future."

I nodded, but couldn't keep my sadness from showing. Optimus must have seen it, because he spoke again. "There is little point in worrying about what may or may not happen," he said, "What is important now is to focus on the problem at hand."

"And that is?" Sam inquired.

"What it is that the Decepticons are up to."

* * *

I don't think you have any idea how good it feels to be back. I'm getting excited about this story all over again! :)

You may have noticed I changed my pen name. I just felt that it was time for a change. I'm a different person than I was a year ago (or so I like to think).

Anyways, I hope to hear from old readers as well as new ones! If anyone has stuck around, I'd like to say 'Thank you!' I will do my best to get the next chapter up ASAP, and I'll see ya next time.

-Panic Switch


	6. Chapter 6

A/N I wasn't really planning on doing this chapter next, but it was just begging me to be written. Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed this story!

I listened to this really freakin' awesome playlist that I found. I used when I wrote this chapter and the previous one. I'd suggest you take a gander; might help you concentrate if you're having trouble with that. Or if you just wanna listen to good music. http :/8tracks .com/mackensienoelle/for-a-writer?mix_set_id=3662844

* * *

Chapter 6

The sounds of someone typing on a keyboard almost lulled her to sleep. Normally, she was quite the night owl, but just lounging on a bed and doing nothing was taking its toll. Last she had looked, it was just past 1am. Meanwhile, the _tik-takking _of that keyboard was just... very... soothing...

Maggie's eye shot open when she realized that she was falling asleep. Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes, which only proved to make it more difficult for her to keep them open. Even after blinking many times, they still refused to stay completely open. Looking to her left, she saw Glen's back. He was outlined by the soft glow of the computer he was working at. Maggie then stood up and made her way for Glen's door. The door squeaked as it opened, causing the man at the computer to jump.

"Maggie!" he shouted. "You can't do that to me! I'm about to have a freaking heart attack here!"

"Sorry Glen," she replied, not in the mood to argue. As she walked through the door, she heard him resume his typing.

Not too far from Glen's room was the bathroom, Maggie's destination. She flipped the light switch on, making her eyes sting at the brightness. Maggie then crossed the room to get to the sink. After she turned the cold water on, she lowered her face and splashed water on her eyes. Looking up in the mirror, she saw the her eyes were even more red and blood shot than the previous day. Feeling the water begin to make its way from her eyes to her cheeks, she turned the sink off and grabbed a towel. The water had made the stinging go away, but it was still difficult to keep her eyes open.

The towel was put down, the light was turned off, and Maggie headed back to Glen's room. She had left the door open wide enough to get through, so not to scare him this time. Instead of going back to the bed, she stood next to Glen and bent over to get a better look at the screen. "You're hacking into a Croatian computer company's system?" she asked after a few moments.

"Hey, it's where the signal was bounced off of," Glen said defensively.

"Just how many different systems has it bounced off of?" In response, Glen brought up a different window on the computer. On it was a list of different companies, home systems, satellites, you name it. Maggie's eyes widened at the list. "Oh my..."

"Tell me about it. This thing's been all over Europe, South Africa, New Zealand, at least half the states, space!"

Maggie just shook her head, "I'm surprised we haven't heard about this guy on the news. Surely they've realized that someone has hacked into their system to send a message along."

"I dunno. This guy's good."

* * *

Half an hour had passed and not much had changed. Glen was still typing and clicking away, and Maggie was right beside him. Only now she had pulled up a chair to sit in. And her neck and back really hurt. She leaned back in the chair and stretched her arms out above her. It helped, but not much.

As Maggie leaned forward in her chair again, she heard a noise. It was coming from outside, although it seemed very distant. Glen heard it too. He froze, his fingertips just above the keys and his eyes widened in fear. "Did you hear that?" he asked in a panicky voice.

Maggie nodded and listened again to the noise, trying to pick out what it was. "I think it's a helicopter," she said.

This answer didn't seem to put Glen at ease, as he stayed in that same position. "It sounds close."

"It does not."

"It does too! It's almost above us! It's probably those government agents you work for. I _knew _this was a bad idea, but nooo, you just had to pressure me into this!"

"Glen! That helicopter is nowhere _near _here. Just calm down."

There were a few moments of silence as Glen slowly calmed down from his panic attack. He took a deep breathe before getting back to what he was doing. Maggie ran a hand through her hair before leaning back in the chair. Out of the corner of her eye, she thought she saw something outside the window. Her head whipped to the left.

Glen apparently saw this action and almost went back into hysterics, "What? What? What is it?" He too looked out the window. The blinds were open, but all they could see was black.

"It's nothing... probably just my hair caught in the light," Maggie said. Thankfully, Glen accepted this answer and didn't dwell on it any longer. Maggie shook her head. If she kept spending time with Glen like this, she was sure she would end up just as paranoid as he was.

* * *

Almost another half hour, and almost no change. Glen's fingers were moving slower and slower, growing more tired with every passing minute. Maggie had since found a technology magazine and was flipping through it idly. She wasn't reading it, or really paying attention to any part of it, but flipping the pages gave her something to do.

Once Maggie flipped the final page, she let out a sigh. She dropped the magazine on the ground next to her chair. She then stretched her arms out in front of her and let out a yawn. Not even a beat passed and Glen, too, was yawning.

Looking over at Glen, Maggie saw how tired he looked. He was leaning over the keyboard more than usual and his eyes were half closed. "Glen," she said in a quiet voice, giving away how tired _she _was, "Maybe you should get some sleep. I can keep working on it for a while." She may not be as good a hacker as Glen, but she still knew what she was doing.

Glen shook his head. "No, no, I got this. I'm close... I can feel it. I'm not that tired." On cue, he yawned once more.

Shrugging, Maggie replied, "Fine." She was too tired to argue with him.

Pushing her chair away from the desk, she used the space in front of her to stretch her legs. She then got up from her seat and pushed the chair back next to Glen. As she went to the bed, something caught her eye through the window. Again.

This time, however, when she looked out the window, she could see something. It looked like a red dot. Maggie squinted her eyes and went closer to the window. The red dot was still there and unmoving. "What the..."

"Hey... hey, Maggie. I-I think I got it. But the server... it's weird. It doesn't look like any language I've seen before... Maggie?" But Maggie wasn't paying attention to what Glen was saying. All she could focus on was the strange, red dot.

The next thing she knew, the red dot was getting a lot bigger at a scarily fast speed. Then came the sound of breaking glass. Maggie felt something hit her and she found herself lying on her back on the floor with the wind knocked out of her. And right above her face was that red dot, now very large and bright. When her senses started to come back to her, she realized that attached to the dot was a head and a body and a tail. The only name for it her mind could come up with was a robotic panther. Said robotic panther growled at her and whipped its tail back and forth. Maggie was still in such shock that all she could do was stare at it with her mouth open.

Glen yelling pulled her completely back into reality. Her head turned to the right, and she could see him standing in front of his desk. The robotic panther looked at him too and growled again. It then lashed its tail out at him. Glen's screaming was cut off as he to was knocked to the ground. The tail hovered over him, almost threatening him to try yelling again.

The head of the feline robot turned from Glen to the computer. Its tail moved away from Glen. After studying the screen for a few moments, it snarled and let its tail plow through the desktop computer. When it retracted its tail, the monitor was black and the gaping holes were sparking.

Seemingly satisfied with its work, the robotic panther turned back to Maggie. In turn, Maggie felt her heartbeat considerably increase its speed. Hearing heavy breathing, she assumed Glen was feeling the same.

"Move over you glitch!" a voice came from outside.

"I know you ain't callin' _me_ a glitch. Not 'nless you want a hole through yer processor!" another voice retorted back.

"Tch, oh I'm so scared. Now move!" There was short scuffle before the owner of the first voice got his way. "Would you get the meat bags already, Ravage?"

The robotic panther turned its head toward the window, almost glaring at the other. Its head swiveled back around to Maggie before it sidestepping off of her. Slowly, Maggie sat up and looked out the window. The glass was almost completely gone, save for a few jagged pieces around the frame. She silently thanked herself for not getting too close to the window. If she had, she probably would have been seriously injured by all that broken glass.

What was on the other side of the window made her blood run cold.

She could clearly see the head of a robot, most likely a Decepticon. Its head was grey and it looked as though it had no mouth; a faceplate perhaps? A visor was over its eyes, sort of like Jazz. Only this guy's was glowing bright red.

The Decepticon cackled madly at the look on her face, "Brawlie! I haven't even done anything and the squishy is scared!"

Maggie had the rising urge to scramble back as far away from the window as possible. The only thing that was stopping her was the robotic feline that was now prodding her back. Not wanting to risk making any of them angry, she forced herself to her feet.

"Here squishy, squishy, squishy," the one in the window sang. His voice gave off a vibe that he was planning to do something horrible to them.

Gulping, Maggie took a step forward, albeit, a shaky one. As she moved closer to the window, she heard the feline, Ravage?, move to Glen. For once, Glen seemed to be too shocked to do anything other than oblige and follow Maggie.

At the window, Maggie couldn't help but stare at the Decepticon. If she thought he looked menacing before, he looked downright terrifying now. He was obviously a lot taller than she had thought, as she could now see he was crouching down. Standing behind and to the side him, she could just make out the form of the other Decepticon that was outside. But, she didn't try to get a better look at him. She wasn't sure she wanted to confirm that another one was there.

Then, without warning, she felt a hand grab her. Giant fingers wrapped around her torso and lifted her off the ground. Her breath caught in her throat as she was brought through the window. Part of the broken glass on the window's frame grazed her leg. Thankfully, it didn't cut her through her jeans.

She was now outside, and instead of being put on the ground, the Decepticon brought her up to his face. Now under his calculating gaze, her breathing became shaky and she was sure she looked like a deer caught in the headlights. After a few moments, he let out a dissatisfied noise, "Not nearly as strong as I thought." Maggie was placed back on the ground, "Now where's the fun in that?"

Once Maggie had gotten her bearings, Glen was outside and standing next to her. His eyes were wide and his mouth was slightly agape. It looked as though he were about to be sick.

A noise took Maggie's attention away from Glen and brought it to the window. There, she saw the robot panther jump back out through the window. It kept its distance from the group, circling around and making its way to the fence that stood along the perimeter of the backyard.

The second Decepticon spoke for the second time that night. Maggie looked at him thoroughly for the first time. He was shorter than the other one, and darker in color. He also wore a visor, only his was orange instead of red. A large turret, one that probably belonged to a tank, protruded up from his back. The one thing he seemed to have in common with the other was the menacing look he had about him.

"Move yer aft, Tex! We ain't got all night!"

"Then make yourself useful and grab one of the meat bags."

"I ain't touchin' either of 'em!"

"I believe our orders were to retrieve them 'as quickly as possible'. What's Ons gonna do when he finds out we didn't do that?"

The other grumbled in reply before stooping over and picking up Maggie. She let out a surprised gasp as the air rushed around her. Even when she was still again, it seemed as if the world around her was spinning. As the dizziness wore off, she could see that Glen was now in the hands of the grey Decepticon. The pair of robots then followed the feline over the fence and up and over the hills beyond the back yard.

Both Glen and Maggie were still trying to wrap their heads around the situation they were in. They had just been kidnapped by three Decepticons. It was safe to say that neither one of them had expected it.

* * *

She didn't know how long they had walked for. It felt like a lifetime, but it easily could have been just a few minutes. If she looked in any given direction, she could see lights from the city and suburbs. But, they weren't close enough for anyone to see _them_. They were out in one of the few 'untouched' areas. People used it for hiking, and that was about it.

Maggie and Glen were put on the ground, a little unceremoniously they might add. Their eyes had adjusted to the dark night, so it was easier to make out the forms of the three Decepticons. The panther was circling them and the bi-pedal ones each had a hand to their head. Glen eyed the four-legged one warily while Maggie watched the other two.

Finally, their hands dropped. The grey one then surprised the humans by transforming into a helicopter. He giggled, "Come on in." Maggie and Glen shared a glance before making their way over to the helicopter, the panther trailing behind them.

Once they had gotten in the helicopter and strapped themselves in, the door closed. The shorter bi-pedal Decepticon, standing in front of the helicopter, shook his head, "Yer a crazy fragger, y'know that?"

"And you're a glitch-head," the helicopter responded happily. The shorter robot then backed up a few paces before transforming himself. Maggie had been right, in place of the robot was now a tank.

The rotors of the helicopter began spinning and soon they left the ground. Maggie looked out the window. Below them, she could just barely make out the form of the tank as it rolled along in the darkness. And keeping up next to it was the panther.

"Hey," the helicopter said. "Do you know what happens when a helicopter doesn't have a tail rotor?" That was all the warning they had to brace themselves.

* * *

Hey! Look! It's Glen and Maggie! And Ravage! And!... um... 2/5 of the Combaticons!

I know right, I whipped out this chapter so fast. I was all "shizzam!" and "pow!" and BAM! chapter six was written.

OMG, I've never written the Combaticons before! D: I hope I didn't fail : I love these guys, and I just had to put them in the story.

Anyways, I remember in my other story (So Believe) I started blabbing about the newest Transformers Animated episode at the end of each chapter. I think I'm gonna start doing that again, only this time with either Transformers Prime, or G1 (yay for Netflix!) or both :O Yeah, doesn't affect the story whatsoever, I'm just thinking out loud.

Planning out the next update as we speak!

Until next time

-Panic Switch


	7. Chapter 7

_Part Two_

_**Tension**_

Chapter 7

Optimus informed Sam and me that he still had much work to get to, so we quickly thanked him, said bye, and left his office with Bee. Once in the hallway again, the three of us stood in a little circle for a moment. "So..." Sam finally said, "Now what?"

"Now, **I'm **off to say 'hi' to everyone and to go look for the twins, so see ya!" And with that, I took off sprinting down the hall.

"Hey, wait!" Sam called after me, but I didn't comply to his request.

I was headed towards the Rec Room; one of the guys in there had to know where Sunny and Siders were. As I passed the Med Bay, a bot was walked towards me, reading a datapad. "Look out below!" I yelled to Prowl, not wanting to get stepped on.

Prowl's optics left his datapad for only a moment, "Hello Paris." To avoid possibly being stepped on, I made sure to keep close to the wall on my right.

Just as I was passing him, I shouted, "Nice seeing you, Prowl!" I didn't get a response out of him this time, but I didn't expect to. It was surprising to me that he had even said anything.

In a few more moments, I was at the Rec Room's entrance and completely out of breath. After getting my breathing mostly under control, I went over to the table that the blue noblemech was still sitting at. He must have been very enthralled by whatever it was he was reading, because he didn't hear me walk right up next to him. "Heya Mirage."

Said bot jumped a bit and looked down at me. A small smile formed on his lips, a rare occurrence, and he put his datapad down on the table. "Hello Paris. It's good to see you again."

I smiled back, "It's good to see you too. Think you can give me a rundown of where everyone is? I talked to Optimus and Prowl, Ratchet seems busy in the Med Bay, and I know that the Jettwins are over there."

"Certainly. Let's see, Jazz is on monitor duty, Wheeljack's in the Med Bay with Ratchet, they're working on something together. Blurr and Ironhide are in the training area. And the twins..." he trailed off for a moment to think, "They should be back from their patrol by now. Since they're not in here, I assume they're in their room."

"Cool, thanks," I said while taking a few steps back, "I'll talk to you later, Mirage." He gave a little wave, which I returned. My feet took me to the couch that the Jettwins were sitting at. Stopping behind the couch, so that they couldn't see me, I took a deep breath before shouting, "JETSTORM! JETFIRE!"

Both 'Bots whipped around on the couch and looked down at me. Wide smiles were on their faces as they leapt over the back of the couch. "Paris!" they shouted in unison.

Jetstorm scooped me up and began to twirl around, much to my dismay. "Look, Brother! Our human friend is being back!"

"Now we can be kicking her butt in video games!" Jetfire put in.

To my relief, Jetstorm stop spinning. It looked like he was nodding at me... although it also looked like he had two heads. "Oh yes!" he exclaimed, "We have been practicing!"

"Well," I started, once everything had stopped spinning, "We'll just see about that. It'll have to be later, though. I'm making the rounds and looking for the other twins."

The Jettwins' faces fell, "Oh..."

"Hey, lighten up you two. Not like I'm leaving and never coming back." Footsteps could be heard coming towards the Rec Room. Craning my neck to see around Jetstorm's head, I saw 'Bee and Sam enter the room. A smile formed on my face, "Besides, I just found you guys two new friends." I nodded in their direction and the Jettwins turned around. Their faces lit up again at the sight before them.

"Are you believing what your optics is seeing?"

"I am believing that they are seeing Bumblebee!"

Bumblebee appeared to be happy to see the two 'Bots in front of him. While Jetfire ran over to him, Jetstorm carefully placed me on the ground before joining his brother and 'Bee. Laughing to myself at the excited trio, I walked over to Sam. He was also looking at the group in amusement. As I approached Sam, I spoke, "Took you awhile."

He glanced over at me. "We stopped by the Med Bay, but we heard Ratchet talking to someone, so... we'll just go later."

I nodded and looked back at the 'Bots. The Jettwins were chattering away to 'Bee as he nodded and gestured every once and awhile. It was good to see them talking so excitedly to someone. They didn't seem that close to anyone on the base, besides each other. I knew that they would hang out with Sunny and Sides sometimes, but I also knew that Sunny and Sides found the Jettwins annoying after a while. Turning back to Sam, I hitched a thumb towards the group. "Those are the Jettwins," I said, causing him to face me, "Jetstorm and Jetfire. They're the last known Autobot fliers."

"How many other new ones are here?"

"There are four others. Mirage is over in the corner and the other three are around the base. You'll probably run into them sooner or later."

"I think we already did. He was black and white?"

"That's Prowl. He's the second in command, so he can be strict. But he's pretty cool. Just don't intentionally try to piss him off."

"Ah."

We fell into a silence, so I guessed it was time for me to leave. "You should introduce yourself to them," I told Sam while nodding towards the Jettwins. "They like humans. And video games."

He chuckled a bit. "And now you're going to go find the other twins?"

"Heck to the yes. See ya later." I mock saluted Sam before leaving the Rec Room.

Making my way down the hall, I ended up back in the opening of the hanger. I contiued on through the other hallway, the one that led to the recharge rooms. The twins' rooms were almost exactly halfway down. Once at their doors, I stopped and listened. It sounded like they were in their actual recharge room. But it didn't seem like they were doing much. Going over to the human level keypad, I entered their code and the door slid open. As I had guessed, the twins weren't really doing anything. Sideswipe was lying on his berth, staring at the ceiling, and Sunstreaker was sitting on his own, drawing in his sketch book. They both looked over at the door as it opened. I smiled at the sight of them... only to have it falter when they looked away without a word. "Tough crowd," I mumbled to myself. The door slid closed after I went through it. "Gee, thanks for the welcome wagon."

"Hey Squishy," Sideswipe greeted, still looking at the ceiling. I walked to the side of Sunstreaker's berth.

Looking up at him, I asked, "What, not even a 'hey' or 'what's up?'... 'glad to see you're still alive'... nothing?"

He looked down at me. "Hey."

Huffing in annoyance, I crossed my arms and turned away from him. I leaned back against his berth, arms still crossed. "The Jettwins were more excited to see me than you guys," I said while sliding down to the ground.

"They get excited about everything," Sunstreaker pointed out.

"Ok then, _Mirage_ was more excited to see me."

Sideswipe shook his head, "Eh, it may not seem like it, but the guy does have emotions."

I gritted my teeth together, "Fine. Prowl was. At least I didn't have to _prompt_ him to say 'hello'."

"Ouch."

Scoffing at Sides, I turned my head away from him and towards the door. "So... what, I've been left in the dark for weeks, had zero contact with everyone here, and I come back to this? If it's about the whole you-guys-possibly-leaving thing, you're not handling it very well."

There was silence for a few moments. Then I heard Sideswipe shift on his berth. Looking back at him, he had turned to lie on his side, propping his head up with his right arm, "Alright, so we're both in a bad mood. It's not everyday that you're told you're basically not welcome somewhere because you're helping keep alive the someones that live in that somewhere." He went back to lying on his back and resumed staring at the ceiling, "It's fragged up, is what it is."

"Yeah, I know, it sucks," I stretched my legs out and crossed them while putting hands behind my head, "People are stupid. I think we've come to this conclusion before."

"This is beyond stupid," Sunstreaker said. Twisting my head around, I strained to look up and back at him without moving. "It's suicidal, really."

I hadn't really thought about it like that. What _would _happen if the Autobots left and we had to defend ourselves against the Decepticons? We might make it through... but it would be quite a devastating blow to the world. Wincing a bit at the thought, I shook my head, "Well, you guys aren't leaving anytime soon." I stood up and unconsiously wiped my jeans off, "Let's go to the training area. Mirage told me that Blurr and Ironhide are over there." I turned to face the twins to see their reactions. They glanced at each other briefly before they both shrugged.

"Sure, nothing better to do," Sideswipe concluded.

"Sweet, c'mon let's go."

Due to the size of it, the training area was in a different building. When we entered the building, the twins went straight to the firing range, and I told them I'd meet up with them in a bit. As Mirage had said, Ironhide and Blurr were in there. Ironhide was working with Blurr in close combat. I watched them for a while, waiting for them to take a break. When they did, I began waving my arms around. "Squishy in the area, don't kill me by accident! Or on purpose!" The two mechs looked over at me. Blurr smiled and waved, and was almost instantly in front of me.

"Hi-Paris-wow-it's-good-to-see-you-again-it's-been-a-long-time-hasn't-it-or-maybe-it-hasn't-and-it-just-seems-like-it-does-it-seem-like-it's-been-a-long-time-to-you-because-to-me-it-does."

"I'm used to being here practically everyday, of course it felt like a long time!" I leaned a bit to my right to look past Blurr, "Hey Ironhide! Good to see you again!" Ironhide grunted in response. A small smile quirked my lips and I looked back at Blurr, "Well, the twins went over to the firing range, and I don't want to keep you from your practice, so I'll get going now."

"Ok-I'll-see-you-later-I-guess-unless-you-leave-before-I'm-done-then-I'll-see-you-another-day-but-that-would-still-be-later-wouldn't-it?"

"You're rambling, Blurr!" I called back to him as I walked away.

I went back out the door that led to the training room and took a left down the hall. Another door was beside me in almost no time, and I went through it. Inside the door was a room with another door on the opposite wall. The wall on the right was lined with shelves for the Autobots to use, although they were mostly empty. On the left wall were extra targets. I walked across the room, stopping at the other door. To the right of the door were some pegs with ear muffs for any humans entering the range. After grabbing a pair and adjusting them a bit, I went through the door to the firing range. Sunny and Sides had stations next to each other. They were both using their laser weapons at the time. When they noticed my presence, they both ceased fire and turned towards me. I pulled my ear muffs off my head and left them around my neck.

"'Bout time you got here," Sideswipe remarked. I looked past the pair and to the targets they had been using. Holes littered them both, gaping and still smoking.

Quirking an eyebrow, I looked at both twins, "My, having some anger issues, are we now?"

"Just letting off some steam."

"Yeah, would you rather us put holes through the next 'bot or human that annoys us enough?"

"Easy there, Sunny," I put my hands up, "No need to get violent with others."

"Yeah Sunstreaker, we don't need more people hating us."

Sunstreaker made a disgruntled noise before turning to face his target again. "Better put your headgear on," he warned. The plating in his right arm began to shift, and a gun was formed. He took aim before letting loose a barrage of bullets. Sideswipe rolled his optics, but followed suit without objection. I turned away from the pair and walked towards the wall behind them. I leaned my back against it before sliding down to the ground. There was no more conversation between us. I had no doubts that the twins were trying to shoot out all of their emotions. They weren't very good at talking about their feelings. They liked to keep them bottled up. Which is why I decided to not be too mad at them for how they reacted to my visit. It would probably be best to just let it go.

Besides, holding a grudge against two giant robots didn't seem like the best idea.

* * *

After being lost in thought for some stretch of time, I was finally stirred from my trance by the twins. They were done for the day and were going to head to the rec room.

Once we got there, I saw that the Jettwins were introducing Bee to video games, while Sam watched. He was grinning and laughing at their attempts. When we entered the room, he turned towards us, and his face fell. It took me a moment to remember that he hadn't left on a good note with Sunstreaker and Sideswipe. But, they either didn't notice his look or didn't care, as they walked over to the trio playing video games, and stood behind them.

"Tch, bunch of amateurs," Sideswipe commented. He snatched a controller from Jetfire's hands, "Let me show ya how it's done."

"Hey! I was not being done with that!"

Sunstreaker smirked. "Yeah, Sides, it's not nice to take things from kids."

"Kid?"

I rolled my eyes, knowing that another fight was eminate. Sideswipe and Sunstreaker just loved to push the other twins' buttons.

"Are they always like this?"

I glanced at Sam, who had walked over to me, and laughed half-heartedly. "Unfortunately. But they never do serious damage. Just enough to give Ratchet a headache."

"Oh, yeah, about Ratchet. He was just out here a while ago, getting some cubes for him and Wheeljack. I told him you were here, and he said that the door's open if you want to go say hi."

My eye widened, "The Hatchet _invited_ me to visit the medbay? Geez, he must've blown a circuit or something."

"I guess he's just in a good mood... which is rare. And he probably knows that you'd start bugging them anyways."

"True."

A loud clang sounded, startling me and prompting me to turn towards it. The couch was now toppled over, and Jetfire and Sideswipe were all out brawling over the controller. Jetstorm was trying to intervene, with Sunstreaker blocking him and laughing the whole time. Bumblebee stood off to the side, looking uncertain about what to do.

"Hey!" I yelled. "I'm gonna bail for a bit. Shouldn't take long. Play nice! Don't think I won't get Prowl, or something!"

"See ya!" Sideswipe yelled back, almost gleefully. Sunstreaker nodded towards me.

I turned back to Sam, "Make sure things don't get out of hand." With that, I headed towards the medbay.

Just like Ratchet had said, the door was unlocked, and slid open as I neared it. In the back, I could see two forms leaning over a table. They looked very engrossed in whatever they were doing. Probably so much so that they didn't hear me come in. As I walked towards them, I made my presence known, "So, what's this about Ratchet practically inviting me over here?"

Said bot looked up from whatever he was doing, and scoffed at me, "I was merely trying to avoid the annoyance of being pestered by you. I knew it'd only be a matter of time if I said we were busy and couldn't be disturbed."

I frowned. "I'm not _that _annoying."

Wheeljack then put some things down on the table and came towards me. He leaned down and held his hand out for me. "It's good to see you again."

With a smile, I climbed on. "Good to see you too, Jack." I turned my gaze to Ratchet. "And you... well, after that comment, you, not so much."

When I was set down on the table, I saw that it was littered with blueprints, tools, circuit boards, and a plethora of other parts that I couldn't name. "Whatcha working on?"

"Oh, something we hope to integrate into the human sector of the base."

"Cool."

"Would you care to try it? We actually need someone to test it."

"Umm..." Wheeljack was giving me one of those pleading looks. Y'know, the ones that you have to give in to, because if you don't you're a terrible person. I winced. "Sure, why not." I was then handed the thing that Wheeljack and Ratchet had been working on. "Headphones?" I asked in a confused tone.

"That's the idle mode," Ratchet corrected me.

"Oh, right." Pulling the not-headphones around my neck, I stopped before putting them on my head, "Wait, these aren't gonna explode or anything right?"

Ratchet gave an exasperated sigh. "The worst thing that will happen is that it won't open."

"Hey, this is my head here, I was just making sure." I then proceeded to pull the non-headphones up onto my head. "Alright, now what?"

"On the right ear cover, there's a button along the rim," Wheeljack instructed.

My fingers ran along the rim until I found the button. I couldn't help but hold my breath when I pressed it. To my relief, it didn't explode. Instead, something slid out from both sides of the band. Once everything stopped moving, I realized that the not-headphones had turned into a helmet. The visor was tinted, but didn't obstruct my sight.

"This is so cool!" I gushed.

"That's not even the good part," Wheeljack said. "We plan to make it so that the visor becomes a display. During battle, it can be difficult for humans to tell the difference between us, especially those who have had limited contact with us. And most end up targeting the wrong place, wasting time and ammo. The display will show which bots are Decepticons, and where their weak points are. We may incorporate other things, if more is needed."

My eyes widened, "Cool."

"And," Ratchet said, "We will have them linked to an open comlink. It will be easier to communicate with each other that way."

I clicked the button on the rim again, and the helmet went back into its idle mode. "That's wicked!" I exclaimed while taking the not-headphones off. "I definitely want to see the finished product." That statement made Wheeljack look like the happiest bot in the world.

* * *

**A/N** Even though I really want to, I'm stopping myself from going back through this and revising the parts I wrote so long ago. I'd like to think my writing has imrpoved since then, and I apologize if changes in style and quality are evident. No promises on when the next chapter will be out. If you can believe it, things have become even more hectic for me. But, know that when I say that this will be finished, I mean it. Thank you to my old followers for your patience. And for the new readers, thank you for joining us.

Until next time.


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